ESA FIRST! Award Ceremony
ESA FIRST! Award Ceremony
16 January 2024
17:30 – 20:30
ESA Headquarters Nikis
8-10 rue Mario Nikis
70015 Paris

We are excited to present our upcoming ESA FIRST! Award Ceremony, which will be held on 16 January 2024 at 17:30 at ESA Headquarters Nikis in Paris.
This event will present the top-ranked proposals submitted to the FIRST! (Future Innovation and Research in Space Transportation) Invitation to Tender. The companies behind the proposals will soon be able to start negotiations with ESA. The FIRST! 1 project focuses on four technology areas:
- Reusable thermal protection for launchers
- Inovative joining technologies
- Advanced composite structures
- Lightweight stainless steel stage tanks and structures.
These companies will have the opportunity to present their proposed activities to ESA, member states, investors, and Space Transportation service providers at the award ceremony.
About FIRST!
FIRST! is an initiative of the ESA STS Future Launchers Preparatory Programme (FLPP). Through a series of procurements in open competition, the initiative’s goals are to identify innovative and promising technology disruptors benefitting future European space transportation (ST) and to accelerate their de-risking through rapid prototyping and testing.
Agenda
The agenda of the event is as follows:
17:30 Welcome and presentation by ESA
17:50 Top ranked presentation – Advanced composite structures
18:05 Top ranked presentation – Reusable flexible thermal protection for launchers rear part
18:25 Break
18:35 Top ranked presentation – Innovative mechanical joining technologies for metallic and composite structures
18:50 Top ranked presentation – Lightweight stainless-steel tanks and structures
19:10 Inspirational speech
19:25 Conclusion & next steps by ESA
19:30 – 20:30 End of online event and cocktail
SPEAKERS
PARTNERS
REGISTRATION LINKRelated news
Reusable space transportation takes step forward with ESA
The European Space Agency (ESA) is investing in technologies for reusability to secure Europe’s long-term autonomy and competitiveness in space transportation. At the 2025 Paris Air Show, ESA announced eight...
Future-proofing European space transportation: a faster path from concept to market
Participants discuss their projects at the FLPP Spring Session on 2 April 2025 The future of European space transportation depends on lighter, reusable, and more cost-effective systems. Achieving that means...
Geraldine Naja Highlights ESA’s Commercial Ambitions at Space Community Days
At the recent Space Community Days event, Géraldine Naja, ESA’s Director of Commercialisation, Industry and Competitiveness, delivered a compelling overview of the agency’s achievements and strategic direction as it celebrates...
Following ESA’s transformation objective, a new FIRST! campaign on Sustainability has been launched
FIRST! stands for Future Innovation Research in Space Transportation and is an initiative of the ESA’s programme for future space transportation, FLPP. FIRST! contributes to this overarching vision by identifying...
FIRST! Propulsion – rapidly de-risking future space transportation liquid propulsion technologies for Europe
As ESA’s FLPP programme drives forward its ambition to strengthen Europe’s future space transportation capabilities through de-risking innovation at speed, delegates at the Future Space Transportation Spring Session saw this...
{{ event['address'] }}
{{ event['link'] }}